🌟Meeting The Celestial Geese With An Interesting Twist
Meeting Sweet Geeses that turn into Hoors. Another of Ibn Qarihs Adventure.
✨ The Story Continues:
Ibn Qarih just enjoyed a Heavenly Banquet with Poetry and Heavenly Food. The Banquet involved every member having their verses recited which turned out were famous Misattributions. Though the meals and verses are over, the band is still together.
Ibn Qarih sees a flock of geese passing by stand. He and his party descend the meadow and the geese, they stood there waving as if awaiting a command.
Since Paradisal Birds are able to speak, Ibn Qarih asks them, “What do you want?”
They reply, “We have been inspired to come to this meadow in order to sing to the lovely drinking company here.”
“SubhanAllah! Proceed then, by the Blessings of God.” says Ibn Qarih.
They shake off their plumage and turn into houris, who strut in the garden, sporting their robes of celestrial embroidery with Zithers and Instruments of Singing; carrying lutes and instruments for musical entertainment.
Ibn Qarih is astonished and amazed at the scene, though understanding that it comes from the omnipotence of God the Glorious, whose Word is mighty, whose Blessings flow Abundantly on the world, whose Mercy encompasses every thing, and whose Vengeance falls on the unbeliever.
Ibn Qarih then says to one of them, to test them, “Sing for us, in ‘Saqil al Awwal’ (first heavy) rhythmical mode, this verse by An’ Nabigha Abū Umāmah, the man who is sitting over here:
ʾa-mina ʾāli Mayyata rāʾiḥun ʾaw mughtadin, || ʿajlāna dhā zādin wa ghayra muzawwadin
Is there a traveler from the kin of Mayyah — one returning by dusk or departing at dawn
hurriedly, carrying provisions, yet as if he had none?
The Houri does precisely this, delightfully, in a manner that were a statue out of stone to hear her sing, it would come to dance. If one stood on high and fall whilst delighting in the sound, to only break their neck, they would not mind either.
Ibn Qarih enjoys the marvelous scenes that cannot be resisted by any means. Ibn Qarih then asks the girl to sing in another classical Arabic singing mode. The girl starts to sing, with a melody such that if heard by Al-Gharīḍ1 he would have to concede that by comparison his own singing was feeble indeed.
And then Ibn Qarih asks for the verse to be sung in another mode. She proceeds in a manner such that if ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar2 had heard it, he would have to declare that the songs of Budayḥ3 could only compare to a camel’s blare.
When Ibn Qarih finally realizes the beauty of moment and takes in the scene he exclaims, “God be praised! Whenever His omnipotence is made clear, unsurpassable marvels appear.” Then requests for another mode,
“For you are doing a truly excellent thing; you banish slumber when you sing!” Says Ibn Qarih.
When she does what he has told her to do, she produces things that are fearfully good and says to the people, “Are you not in a cheerful mood?” Then he suggests that the hoor should sing in the ramal mode and its light variety, and its brother the hazaj mode with its fast modality. All eight modes4 to the ears she does impart, a master in her art.
Ibn Qarih after reveling in the Hoori’s skill on the loot, proceeds to remark that there is no god but God, that God is great, and that his Lord be praised, for he is truly amazed.
Then, “Mind you,” Exclaims Ibn Qarih, “were you not just now… a goose that was flying? Where did you get this knowledge from?”
He continues “If you had been born with Maʿbad and Ibn Surayj5, you could not have filled the hearer with so much ecstasy, so how did the stupidity of Geese fell upon you?”
“What have you seen then of your Creator’s omnipotence?” The once-geese Hoor replies. “You are standing on the shore of a sea that cannot be crossed. Praised be to Him, He who…
مَن يُحْىِ ٱلْعِظَـٰمَ وَهِىَ رَمِيمٌۭ ٧٨
«who revives the bones when they are decayed»! (Quran 36:78)
[Lets understand this classical verse further & learn Arabic using the mentioned couplet!]
🟢 Understanding The Arabic Words in Context of The Verse:
Couplet:
أَمِنَ آلِ مَيَّةَ رائحٌ أو مغْتَدِ
عَجْلانَ ذا زادٍ، وَغَيْرَ مُزَوَّدَ
💎 Meanings:
أَمِنَ (ʾamina): Did [someone] find security? — often used rhetorically, meaning "Is there anyone coming safely?"
آلِ مَيَّةَ (āli Mayyah): The family or tribe of Mayyah — likely a woman beloved or symbolic.
رائحٌ (rāʾiḥ): One returning in the evening.
أو مغتدِ (aw mughtadin): Or departing in the morning.
عَجْلانَ (ʿajlān): Hurrying, in haste.
ذا زادٍ (dhā zādin): Possessing provisions.
وغير مزوّدَ (wa ghayra muzawwadin): And yet, not provisioned — paradoxically suggesting both readiness and unpreparedness.
🔵 Intricacies of the Verse:
The poet opens with a rhetorical question, asking whether someone from the family or tribe of Mayyah (a familiar clan) has arrived, either returning at dusk (rāʾiḥ) or departing at dawn (mughtadin). This reference to the daily rhythms of travel in the desert frames the verse in a nostalgic, almost mournful tone. The name "Mayyah" likely symbolizes a beloved or a place of longing, a common poetic trope, and the verse invites us to imagine a traveler linked to that longing, caught in the movement of coming and going.
The second hemistich intensifies the emotional paradox. The traveler is described as ʿajlān, in haste… as though driven by urgency, and simultaneously "possessing provisions" yet "unprovisioned". This contradiction lies at the heart of the verse. It paints a picture of a person who appears outwardly ready for the journey, perhaps even materially equipped, but is internally or spiritually unprepared hollowed by longing, disoriented by love, or lacking the emotional strength to complete the path.
The line “ذا زادٍ، وغير مزوّد” reflects tension, describing someone who has provisions but is still unprovisioned. This could be literal (the traveler has food but not enough) or emotional (he's prepared for the road but not for the separation).
In the Arabian Peninsula, provisions were a serious matter. A journey without zād (food/water) was perilous. The mention of "unprovisioned" might also mock an emotional state: How could someone set off toward Mayyah without being emotionally ready?
Together, the two lines express a subtle tragedy: the restlessness of yearning, the pain of separation, and the inability to truly reach the beloved or the destination, even when the body is on the move. It is both a portrait of physical travel and emotional vulnerability — typical of the nasīb section of pre-Islamic and early Islamic qaṣīdas.
🔘 Roots of words and Their Classical Usages:
🌟 Forthcoming:
We have already covered conversations with Labid Ibn Rabiah, that take place in Risalat al Ghufran.
1/3 First Meeting With Labid
2/3 The Conversation With Labid
3/3 The Departing
Next we shall move on to the Singing Houris Ibn Qarih runs into. The ongoing conversation and the Following Verse.
Footnotes:
Al-Gharīḍ:
Al-Gharīḍ (7th–8th c. CE) was a legendary early singer of the Umayyad era, known for his mastery of melodic composition and his rivalry with contemporaries like Maʿbad and Ṭuways. His name became shorthand for vocal excellence.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar:
Ibn Jaʿfar (d. c. 699 CE), cousin and son-in-law of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, was famed for his generosity and his refined taste in music and poetry. He was an early patron of Arabic song in Medina and reportedly had discerning ears for vocal beauty. (Kitab Al Aghani)
Budayḥ, known as Budayḥ al-Nāṭiḥ (“Budayḥ the Head-Butting”), was a comedian and parody singer in early Islamic Medina. He was famous not for musical beauty but for humorous, even intentionally grating performances, hence the comparison of his songs to a camel’s blare.
Source: Kitāb al-Aghānī, where he appears as a foil to more refined singers like Ṭuways and Maʿbad.
The eight modes go as;
1) Saqīl al‑Awwal which is Slow, solemn and a Bayātī-like ballad.
2) Light First Heavy, which is lighter & playful, Faster form of Bayātī-like Ballad.
3) Second Heavy, a Rich, mid-range oud With Sīkā and denser maqām sounds
4) Light Second Heavy, which is brighter and faster. Common in Ajam with lively improvisations.
5) Ramal (Soft), is sung in flowing mood.
6) Light Ramal is cheerful, and a flowing faster variant of the previous
7) HazajGentle is lyrical.
8) Fast Hazaj is the same as previous but a bit more Up-beat.
These styles and more are explained much better than I ever could here:
Arabic Music Explanations.
Maʿbad ibn Wahb and Ibn Surayj were two of the most revered singers of the early Umayyad period (7th–8th century CE), credited with refining Arab vocal music through emotional depth, modal experimentation, and technical mastery.
Maʿbad was known for his melancholic intensity, while Ibn Surayj pioneered melodic innovations and was a favorite at the court of al-Walīd I.